The localized treatment of body tissues, diseases, and wounds requires that the particular pharmaceutical component be maintained at the site of treatment for an effective period of time. Given the tendency of natural bodily fluids to rapidly wash away topically applied pharmaceutical components, the topical treatment of wet mucosal tissues has been problematic. In the mouth, saliva, natural replacement of the mucosal tissue, and eating, drinking, and speaking movements are some of the problems that have limited the effectiveness and residence time of pharmaceutical carriers.
Bioadhesive carriers are known in the art and include gels, pastes, tablets, and films. These products, however, may lack one or several of the preferred characteristic for an efficient and commercially acceptable pharmaceutical delivery device. Some characteristics which are preferred by users of bioadhesive carriers include water-erodability, ease of handling and application to the treatment site, and ease of comfort with minimal foreign body sensation. Other preferred characteristics for an effective and user-friendly product for the treatment of mucosal surfaces include the use of pharmaceutically approved components or materials; instantaneous adhesion to mucosal surface upon application; increased residence time for the protection of the affected tissue or the delivery of the pharmaceutical component; and ease of removal of the delivery device from the affected tissue or natural dissolution of the delivery device at the delivery site.
Bioadhesive gels which are used for application to mucosal tissues and especially the oral cavity are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,802 describes a bioadhesive teething gel made from a blend of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and xantham gum. The gel may also have potential use in the treatment of canker sores, fever blisters, and hemorrhoids. However, this type of pharmaceutical carrier has a very limited residence time, given that body fluids such as saliva quickly wash it away from the treatment site. Bioadhesive gels are also described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,314,915; 5,298,258; and 5,642,749. The gels described in those patents use an aqueous or oily medium and different types of bioadhesive and gelling agents.
Denture adhesive pastes are another type of bioadhesive product known in the art. However, these preparations are used primarily for their adhesive properties, to adhere dentures to the gums, rather than for the protection of tissue or for the topical delivery of pharmaceuticals, although drugs such as local anesthetics may be used in the paste for the relief of sore gums. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,894,232 and 4,518,721 describe denture adhesive pastes. The '721 Patent describes a combination of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and polyethylene oxide in polyethylene glycol.
Pastes have also been used as film protectants and as drug delivery systems. One such example having film forming and adhesive properties is the product commercialized under the name Orabase.RTM.-B, which is a thick gel or paste for the relief of mouth sores. Ingredients include guar gum, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, tragacanth gum, and pectin. Even though it does provide numbing to the area of application, the film forming behavior and bioadhesion do not last. Thus, this product has a limited residence time.
Bioadhesive tablets are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,948. The water-soluble bioadhesive material used in this device is a xanthan gum or a pectin combined with an adhesion enhancing material such as a polyol. Although residence time is improved with the use of bioadhesive tablets, they are not user friendly, especially when used in the oral cavity, given the unpleasant feelings associated with their solidity, bulkiness, and slow dissolution time. Bioadhesive tablets are also described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,226,848; 4,292,299; and 4,250,163, and are single layer or bilayer devices having an average thickness of 0.2 to 2.5 mm. The bioadhesive tablets described in these patents utilize a non-adhesive component such as cellulose ether, a bioadhesive component such as polyacrylic acid, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, or polyvinylpyrrolidone, and a binder for tableting purposes. The cellulose derivatives may or may not be water-soluble. The claimed cellulosic materials in the '299 Patent are methyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose.
The use of bandages or bioadhesive laminated films, which are thinner and flexible and therefore have a decreased foreign body sensation, is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,996,934 and 4,286,592. These products are used to deliver drugs through the skin or mucous. The laminated films usually include an adhesive layer, a reservoir layer, and a backing layer. Bioadhesive devices designed to release drug through the skin at a given rate and over a period of time are usually not water soluble, and are not dissolved or washed away by bodily fluids.
In addition to film systems for the delivery of drug through the skin, film delivery systems for use on mucosal surfaces are also known. These types of systems, which are water-insoluble and usually in the form of laminated, extruded or composite films, are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,517,173; 4,572,832; 4,713,243; 4,900,554; and 5,137,729. The '173 Patent describes and claims a membrane-adhering film consisting of at least three layers, including a pharmaceutical layer, a poor water soluble layer, and an intermediate layer. The pharmaceutical layer includes the drug and a cellulose derivative selected from hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose. The poor water soluble layer is made by the combination of one or more cellulose derivatives with a poor water soluble fatty acid, and the intermediate layer is made of cellulose derivatives. The '832 Patent relates to a soft film for buccal delivery, made by the combined use of a water soluble protein, a polyol, and a polyhydric alcohol such as cellulose and polysaccharides, and also teaches the use of coloring or flavoring agents. The '243 Patent describes a single or multi-layered bioadhesive thin film made from 40-95% water soluble hydroxypropyl cellulose, 5-60% water-insoluble ethylene oxide, 0-10% water-insoluble ethyl cellulose, propyl cellulose, polyethylene, or polypropylene, and a medicament. The films are three-layered laminates and include a bioadhesive layer, a reservoir layer, and a non water-soluble outer protective layer. The '729 Patent teaches a soft adhesive film applicable to the oral mucosa containing a systemic drug and comprising a mixture of a vinyl acetate non water-soluble homopolymer, an acrylic acid polymer, and a cellulose derivative. Finally, the '554 Patent describes a device for use in the oral cavity having an adhesive layer including a mixture of an acrylic acid polymer, a water-insoluble cellulose derivate, and a pharmaceutical preparation, and a water-insoluble or sparingly soluble backing layer. The adhesive layer contains the pharmaceutical, and upon application to the mucosal surface, delivers the drug. The '554 Patent also states that "it is impossible to achieve an adhesive device for application to body tissue without all three components, that is, acrylic acid polymer, water insoluble cellulose derivative and a water insoluble or sparingly soluble backing layer."
The previous examples of thin films to be applied in the oral cavity by adhesion onto the mucosal tissues all utilize polymers which are water-insoluble by nature or which are made water-insoluble by crosslinking, and claim a long residence time. They are satisfactory but do not provide a water soluble device with good adhesive properties. Therefore, following application for an expected period of time and the release of an amount of drug, the thin films made by water insoluble polymers must be peeled off of the site of application.